


Better and Cooler

by Diredevil, orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Aged-Up Character, Cloaca, M/M, Sadstuck, Slash, cuteness, it's not the salamander, sorry for any confusion there, sprite sex, they're about 16
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-05
Updated: 2012-09-29
Packaged: 2017-11-04 21:00:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/398154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diredevil/pseuds/Diredevil, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last few days on the ship are filled with tension.</p><p>based off of an RP with my moirail</p><p>*Now better because of edits from CL!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Davesprite's view

That three-year mark is pretty damn near, and eventhough it's eternally night in the depths of space, You know it's exactly 6:43 and 52 second at the moment. Floating up to the main deck of the golden ship seemed to be a routine you follow every morning. You lay on the deck near the bow and, from the view of others, fall asleep. It's about this time that the other floating boy wonder comes up to see if you want to go do someting. You can just feel the pouty frown on his face as he sat down beside you.

"Sup."

He jumps and looks at you with wide, surprised eyes. "O-Oh, Dave... I thought you were alseep!" he laughs.

"Exaclty my plan." you allow yourself to chuckle a little, looking back up at the passing lights. There's some silence while he looks too.

"It's really pretty..." he says softly, a small derpy smile on his face. "And Jade says we're almost there!"

"Yeah.: you reply simply, noticing how he's treading lightly around the topic of your destination. He's always been that way about mentioning the "real" Dave, as he put it so kindly on the first day you two met. "You know I don't care."

He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "I know... It's just..." he trails off.

"We're the same person. I'm just better and cooler." you state nonchalantly. That makes him laugh, returning to the John you met online.

"Yeah! Hey, wanna go hang on a planet or something??"

"Sure. As long as it isn't LOHAC." You get up to what would be considered standing. He grins and shoots up before darting off to find Jade.


	2. John's view

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cynical_luminary here!  
> I finally got around to reading through these chapters and tweaking them. Diredevil typed everything up and posted it based on our roleplay and I've done nothing so far, ha.  
> Anways, ao3 isn't working too well and I can't get chapter one to post my edits but all of the chapters should be fixed up soon!

You grab onto the orange hand of your best friend as your surroundings slowly grow to your size. You like to think that the land is growing around you instead of you shrinking for some reason. Makes you feel less weird inside. The mushrooms and inky black rivers grow and soon they're the right size for the two of you.

"Cool..." Davesprite says, looking around as a light breeze picks up. You can tell he's a bit jealous of how awesome your land is. Because it is _totally awesome_.

"It's not that great!" You say with a laugh to make him feel better and fly with him to where the village was. All of the salamanders are on the ship now, so it's empty. The whole planet is. 

"... It's cool here. There's no lava, and your consorts treated you like a god and not dinner." He replied and then something caught his eye and he flew off. You tip your head and wonder if it's a shiny thing because, hey... he's part crow.

It isn't though. But it's a very familar place that makes your heart beat faster and your stomach do a weird little flip. Your questbed. It's perfectly clean, but just remembering the blood that was shed there makes you shudder. He's silently gazing at the slash mark in the rock where the sword went through.

"I did it." He said softly, not looking at you. "I was told to do it and I listened... I was actually supposed to let Jack do it, but someone told me come and stab whoever was here..." You can't tell if he was crying or not, but you gently pat his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"It's okay... See? I'm still here and better than ever!" You smile and do a flip in the air to prove it to him.

"It's not the same, John..." He replied a bit sharply, turning to look at you. "You can say you're okay... but you're not. You're stuck here for another few days with a freak."

Now, since the game started, you've never seen anyone as a freak but Jack and occasionally Karkat. You may have called others freaks, but never Dave. "Don't say th-!"

"I am, damnit." he cuts you off and his feathers fluff up a little, which is something you thought was always cute, even if it meant he was angry. "I'm orange. Fucking see-through. A god-damned freak of nature and you know it. We may be the same damn person on the inside, but when we get there, you'll choose _him_ over me and I 'll be the guy in the back of the room watching you. The one who said he was my best friend! And you'll fucking laugh and hug that asshole who will take my place!" His voice raised a little and you could tell he was pissed. Dave rarely let his emotions boil over like this, but he couldn't help it. He hated his sprite existence and that very thought made you want to cry, but his accusation snapped something within you.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING SAY THAT!" You screamed, tears spilling over onto your cheeks. "I call you Dave now, don't I?? I never said you were just a temporary replacement for him!"

"Took you a fucking year to finally stop adding on that last part, jackass!" He sort of caws at the end of the sentence, marking his point.

That was too much for you. You let out a sob and then bolt off, using the wind to help you flee from his anger. There was a low rumble and the sky started to cry just as your best friend did. The orange speck disappeared from sight and all you saw was blue. You flew off until you found a large mushroom to hide under. You wished things were different. Having two Daves made this stupid game so complicated. Your knees were brought to your chest and you sobbed hard, letting out all of the worry and stress you had bottled up for months. You cry like you hadn't cried since you were 10 and Dad said you couldn't have a puppy. But this was more important than a stupid puppy. This is your best friend. The rain starts pouring down and the shivers set in. In the distance you could hear something that sounded like your name.

"JOHN!" Dave yells over the sound of the rain, flying over the landscape to search for you. "John.." he says a bit softer, now right in front of you. He holds out his hand, but you whimpered and backed away from him as much as you could. "Stop being stupid." He snapped and grabbed your wrist before shooting into the sky.

You held onto his hand tightly as the two of you left the atmosphere of your planet. You're still shivering madly and now you're clutching at his orange shoulders. There's a bright star in the distance that seems to be your destination, and it turns out to be LOHAC.

"Hang on." He said gently and entered his own planet. When the heat hits you the shivers die down and your clothes start to dry out. He lands on a rocky platform overlooking the lava and clockwork. There's a cave that emits a soft glow from within, but he doesn't lead you in.

"Why did you say that?" You ask weakly as you let go and take a step away from him.

"I..." he shakes his head and looks away. "I overreacted. Sorry for being a dick." You look at him and then proceed to give him a tight hug. "Are we still good?" he asks softly. You nod and smile at him, a little relieved.


	3. Davesprite's view

After the two of you got completely dry, you muster up the courage to ask John if he wanted to see something weird. You were actually hoping not to have to tell anyone, but the pressure of being the only one who knows is starting to get to you. John looks a little confused, but nods his head and he squeaks a little when you pick him up like a new bride and head into the cave. He protests about how he can stand and walk and fly and he doesn't exactly know when to shut the hell up. That's taken care of when you stop and let him get down, now in the deepest part of the cave. It was nice and toasty.

"Dave... What's that??" John's curiousity has obviously peaked at the sight of the shiny object in the middle of the room. It sits in the center and another thing sits inside of it. "Is it a nest??"

"Duh." you mumble and rub your arm.

He makes a noise that would make a dog cringe and gushes out baby talk towards your egg.

"You're gonna scare him." you joke with a chuckle. John looks at you then grins widely and starts to peep to you. Oh shit. The urge.. is... too strong!! "Peep!" The sound leaves your lips and your hand quickly covers your mouth. The derp grins even wider, enough that you fear his cheeks would split, and he starts to make bird noises at you. You'd find it offensive if it weren't for the things he was suggesting without knowing it.

After letting him speak words that made no sensse to his own ears, you tackle him to the ground and finally cover his mouth. "Fine. I'll do what you want if you'll stop it."

"Huh???" he frowns.

"You are actually talking, moron."

His eyes widened. "Um... Wh-what was I saying??"

"That you wanted me and blah blah blah... very explict and deep." You smirk at how his face pales a little and then lights up with the brightest pink you have ever seen. He starts blabbering about how he isn't a homo and how the bulge in his pants is totally not his boner. You frown just a little at his lack of thought. "I laid an egg." You said simply.

"So wha-- oh. OH." He stops and looks at you, biting his lip.

The next few moments are a blur of blue clothes being torn off/thrown off and orange feathers ruffling. Your lips meet and you sort of want to savor the flavor and then tell your other self just to rub it in his stupid face. He left on his boxers, so when your cock is fully out and ready, it meets resistance. "Honestly, John??" you roll your eyes. He blushes a little and then actually takes off your shades. You blink a few times and gaze into his blue eyes with your orange ones.

"Oh wow..." he breathes and smiles, kissing you again and not even protesting when your tail takes away his last bit of clothing. He gasps a bit at the feel of you against him and then whimpers a little and bucks his hips. Being an idiot, he had to ask where to put it, but once he found the slit, he pushed in and all rational thought went out the window. He attempted to go slow and sweet like lovers would, but apparently your cloaca feels fucking amazing and soon he's pounding into you, moaning and gripping at where your hips would be. It seemed like 5 minutes went by, but it was actually 10 and 32 seconds before both of you were moaning the other's name loud enough to wake the dead.

The two of you separate and lay on the floor. He looks over and laughs a little before curling up with you and gazing up at your eyes. "... His are red." you say softly, smiling a bit as you wrap your arms around him. He nods a little, fatigued and very sleepy. His head rests on your neck feathers and you can feel his heart slow down and his breathing get under control. He whispers something that sounds a lot like "I love you, Dave" before going under completely. That makes you smile a little more and you reply full-heartedly. The egg recieves a quick glance to make sure it's okay. After that, you're joining John and chiruping a little as you fall completely asleep.


	4. John's view

You're jostled from your rather peaceful sleep by a few cheeps and feathers ruffling. Dave must be up... You sit up and look around the little cavern and then smile widely. Dave is freaking out over his egg!! And it's the cutest thing in the world! His tail is wrapped around the egg and it seems to be moving ever so slightly.

"John... John, dude you gotta see this." He nearly whispers and jumps a little when you're right beside him, gazing at the egg. You place a hand on the warm surface and from inside you can hear a faint chirp that makes your insides just melt. As a test, you chirp at the egg, waiting for a responce. "It's doesn't work that wa--" He stops after hearing the small peep back.

You gasp and continue peeping and making bird noises at the egg until the shell cracks a little and the noises within get much louder. The two of you watch as a little portion of the shell falls out of the way and you're left gazing into a orange crow-llike eye. You peep with the widest shit-eating grin on the face of the planet as more of the shell falls away thanks to the little sprite's hands.

After a few more attacks, the large piece of the egg breaks and the premie-sized sprite tumbled out. The adorable little thing was all orange and a little transulcent like it's daddy (mother?). It has a pair of wings that were just the right size for it's body and has a short tail. You pick it up in your arms and grin stupidly. It chirps and cooes, reaching out for your glasses.

"Congrats, Egbert."

You look up at Dave, who is trying not to grin as stupidly as you, and tip your head. "For what?"

"You're a mom." When the statement hit you, your eyes watered a bit with joy and you turned your attention back to the baby in your arms.

"Mama!" It chirps happily and attempts to hug you the best it can. You make a happy noise and then kiss it's forehead. Do sprites really have a gender...? You wonder a bit before Dave answers your thoughts.

"He's really cute... but he needs a name."

"Casey!" You blurt before you can think and your cheeks flush at the outburst. "I just... really like that name." you stammer and try not to look like an idiot.

Dave chuckles. "I know you do, Egderp." He looks out towards the entrance and frowns a little. "We should be heading back..."

You nod and stand, holding Casey close as he hugs around your neck. You take Dave's hand and he leads you out of the tunnel and then shoots off into the sky. You use the wind to help push you and murmur a small warning to your son (YOU HAVE A FREAKING SON!!!) about holding on tightly and you giggle a bit when you feel his chubby little arms tighten around your neck. The two of you soon break the atmosphere of the planet and you use your windy powers to get Jade to com emake you two the right size again. As soon as you are, Dave takes Casey for some bonding time and you gab to Jade about him. She informs you that the meteor is very close and that the ship would be landing in a good 2 hours.

That time is spent with Dave and Casey. After about an hour of playing with him, Casey falls asleep in your lap and you smile happily. "Gosh he's flippin' adorable." You giggle and look up at Dave who is frowning a bit. You tip your head.

"When we land... Everything's going to change isn't it? You'll want to be with him." He said softly, a bit sad.

You gasp and look a bit hurt. "No way! I wouldn't ditch you like that! I'm not heartless... Besides, I like you alot... This you." You poke at his feathers around his neck.

His cheeks turn a bit yellow and he smiles only a tiny bit. "You mean it?" You nod and then hug him the best you could without waking the kid. Sorry, _your_ kid.

Then he said something that made you want to cry. "When you guys finish... I'll disappear."

Your eyes go wide and you whimper just a little. "D-disappear??? Will Casey go too??" He nods a bit and frowns.

"We're products of the game, John... I'll join the other douchebag in his head, but I'm sure Casey will disappear forever." You look down at the adorable sleeping boy and sniffle a little. "I'm sorry."

You shake your head and try to make the best of the time you had left.

The hour passed rather slowly and when you could feel the ship coming to a stop, you give Casey back to Dave and fly out to see the line of figures standing on the rock, waiting. The one that stands out the most to you is the rather tall one with a cape. A fucking cape. The grin from before breaks out on your face and you fly down to tackle the coolkid in the tightest hug you can muster without killing him. The two of you exchange greetings before you notice someone's missing. "One second." you frown just a little and fly back to where Dave is now sleeping with your son. "Dave... C'mon." You nudge him and take Casey, gently waking the baby up. He chirps little protests and tries to go back to the bed but you laugh and push Dave off of it. He jumps and glares a bit before reluctantly following you out. Casey holds on tightly to you, a little bit frightened of the trolls that want to say hi.

Dave's eyebrow raised when he saw Casey and then he looked between you and Davesprite. "Are you...?" The sprite grabs your free hand and you nod with a blush. The "real" Dave nods a bit and then turns and flies back to the base where they lived, not saying a word. You frown deeply and hand Casey off to Davesprite before shooting off after him. Where those... Tears you saw?


	5. Davesprite's View

Both you and little Casey watch in confusion as he disappears. "... Well then." You mumble and slowly make your way to the base. It figures he'd ditch you for him, but so soon after he just said he wouldn't? The thoughts of being forgotten swirled in your mind as your son curled into you neck feathers, trying to get some more shut eye. When you get into the base, John is out in the main computer area. Alone. It sort of un-nerves you, but you float over and gently kiss his forehead, letting the boy take the baby sprite.

"Are you alright?" You ask softly, letting concern seep into your voice. He doesn't respond vocally, but he simply nods, petting the now snoozing chick. It's decided then. Something went down between John and the unfeathery asshole. "I'll be right back." you murmur and float through the hall way to the door that obviously belongs to the Knight of the Time variety.

"Come on in." the voice from inside calls after you knock softly. Sure you could have just phased through the door, but who even does that unannounced? The door opens and you enter, sort of glaring at your other self past your orange-tinted shades.

"What'd you say to him?" You asked immediately, letting your stance become a bit more agressive, not like it could intimidate yourself.

"To who?" Dave responds, not even bothering to look up from his laptop.

"You know damn well who." The snapping tone was unintentional, but it got the job done. He looked up at you with the slightest frown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes of heated argument later, Dave (the fake one as far as you're concerned) stops cold in his tracks, mid-sentence. His eyes are obviously focused on somewhere other than you and it makes you turn to look at the boy in blue. Your boy in blue. John's eyes were teary and it was now apparent that he must have heard your outburst about the blonde being "real" in John's eyes. Well shit.

"John, wait... I..." The words that would normally flow out of your mouth non-stop wouldn;t come. Dave was completely silent as well, his concealed eyes wide. 

He held up a hand to stop you from talking as the tears finally spilled over and rolled down his face. "J-just don't." He barely whispered and disappeared with a rush of wind that made both you and Dave sway and stagger. You immediately phase through the roof to watch the blue dot disappear in the distance. "Shit... John..." You attempt to hide your tears as you go to find your son, who is curled up in a chair that would normally hold Karkat's rump. 

"Oh Casey..." You whisper and hug him close. "I'm so sorry that you're gonna disappear..." The only problem with that statement was that the little one actually woke up. He woke up and heard it. 

"D-d-disappear??" His trembling little voice is enough to wreck your self control and the yellow liquid flows down your cheeks. He struggles to get free and manages to go through the wall, his little wings working their hardest to pick up speed so he could catch his mama. You're sorta just frozen and numb as you watch the little sprite go out on his own. You are the worst father/lover. It is you. And right now, you really want to disappear for good. As the thought crosses your mind, you float off to go find some of the trolls to discuss how long it would be before you reached the end of the game. You just hope that when it's all over, John ends up happy. As long as that happens, you couldn't give two shits about yourself.


	6. John's Veiw

The base and shining golden ship are far behind you when you finally just stop and sink to the surface of the cold meteor. The windy powers help keep you warm, but it doesn't exactly help with the fact that you're lonely as hell and right now, you just want to curl up and cry. You're just on the verge of doing that when a small crying sound reaches your ears on the breeze you have going around you. It sounds sad, lost, and alone. And very very familiar. You're instantly alert and floating up just in time to see an orange speck in the distance that is far too small to be Dave.

"MOMMYYYY!" Casey cries, giant tears that would seem almost comical are streaming down his cheeks and falling onto the ground below as he tries his hardest to fly to you. Being the loving parent you are, you ease his flight and go to collect him, holding the baby sprite close to your chest. As you cradle him, shushing him, Casey clings to your hoodie like his life depended on it.

"Shhhh... It's okay, baby... Did you fly all the way here??" You ask worriedly. Where was Davesprite and why wasn't he watching Casey??

"D-daddy said th-that we're gonna disappear." The sound of him crying and the fact that he knows sort of breaks your heart and enrages you at the same time. His little fingers grip tighter to the soft fabric and he looks up at you. "I-I-I don't want to disappear, mommy."

"I know... I know... Why did Daddy tell you?" You asked, slowly heading back to the base to confront the sprite.

"H-he thought I was sleepin'..." Casey explained and curled up in your arms, feeling like he was safe and sound. "Am... Am I gonna disappear?" He suddenly asked, sounding scared and soft.

You really didn't know how to answer your kid. You weren't certain, but it was pretty safe bet that the sprites would all disappear... "I don't know, honey... But you'll be with Daddy." 

The rest of the return trip was quiet apart from a few quiet peeps and sniffles.

The moment you got back to the base, Casey got up and flew to hug Davesprite, letting his dad know that he was okay and that you had returned. The silence between the two of you was thick and filled with unanswered questions. You didn't really have much time to ask them before a certain nubby-horned troll came to let everyone know that you had arrived. The end was finally here.

~~~~~~~~

You're standing between your two best friends, who happen to be the same person, holding their hands while your cute and adorable sprite son is perched on your head. The door that will end it all is in front of the entire group and there's a bit of a silent countdown before Karkat turns the knob. You're instantly thrown into a suffocating darkness that's pulling the four of you apart. The first grip that fails is Dave's, your hand immediately going to hold onto Casey. Davesprite follows, his hand simply going through yours as he disappears into nothingness. Casey, who has somehow managed to start crying, is the next to be thrown from you, leaving you all alone for what seems like ages.

~~~~~~~~

You sit up, covered in sweat, looking around frantically. You're... back in your room. The posters aren't ruined, the door is back on its hinges, and everything seems to be in order. You, John Egbert, have won Sburb. The first few things that run through your mind aren't about yourself however. The stairs are your destination, but the guest room, that is normally always shut, catches your eye. You take slow tentative steps into the room and just stop, eyes starting to water. 

"What...." The walls are all artistically painted. The one to your left is mostly green trees with pink leaves and snow with a few blue iguanas hiding among them. The wall to your right is nothing but red and silver, lava and iron clockwork seeming to actually be moving as you gaze at the wall. A few steps are taken to gaze at the gears. "Knew it..." A few red crocodiles are scattered on the cogs. The wall that the window is in is a collaboration of beautiful colors that fall like rain on a very familiar friend's house and pink turtles. The water itself is like a massive rainbow... So that must mean... You turn around to look at the door, closing it to get the full picture of a blue world with black rivers and giant blue mushrooms. A village of yellow salamanders is what's on the back of the door.

"It wasn't a dream..." You say softly and happen to look up. The ceiling is what gets you to almost cry. It's Skaia... With Prospit and Derse in the far corners of the room. The detail is so surreal and you just close your eyes, your memories of the game flash through your mind before the door opens.

"Johnathan?" It's Dad... He's freaking alive. You're unashamed to say that you ran up and hugged him around the waist like a little kid, trying not to cry. He repeats your name and you look up at him. "I kept calling your name, but you didn't listen... If you're going to have this responsibility, you need to be on top of things." He said rather sternly.

It's not until then that you realize what the room is that you're in. It's a nursery. You immediately let go of your dad and race downstairs to the sound of fussing. You sort of just stop and stare at the baby that's on the floor in the living room. He's got a beautiful tuft of blonde hair and when he opens his eyes to look at you, they're sort of amber, almost orange. "Casey..." You breathe and eagerly scoop him up in your arms. The fussing stops immediately and he giggles, grabbing onto your shirt.

"I'm very proud of you doing the right thing at such a young age, John... 16 is so young to be a father." Dad says from the stairs, but you sort of tune him you as you coo and actually peep at Casey. The sounds he makes are just enough to cause you to cry out with joy. 

Suddenly it occurs to you that there's a knocking at the door. Dad answers it for you and you stop, gazing at the coolkid in your doorway.

"Sup." Dave's here. In Washington. Casey obviously knows who he is because he reaches out for Dave and makes noises at him until the Strider takes him. The two of you walk up to the nursery to put Casey down for a nap, since that's what he was supposed to be doing. 

"... Dave?" You're a little reluctant to actually talk to him, afraid that he would disappear.

"Yeah?" He looks over, laying Casey down in the crib and giving her a stuffed nakodile. He stands up straight and takes off his shades to actually see you better.

His eyes really are red... "I knew it."

"Knew what exactly, Egderp?"

"Your eyes are red!" You grin a bit and poke his nose. So uncool, but right now you couldn't care less.

".... How did you know?" He seems actually confused on how you knew.

"He told me... Davesprite did."

The name seems to shock something into him and you can see it in his eyes that he just realized the same thing you did a while back. "It was real..." A few tears start to well up and you're hugging him tighter than you've ever hugged anyone before. The game was real. Davesprite was right about disappearing, but only for himself... Casey stayed, which was amazing, but that begged a question.

You pulled away from the hug to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "If Casey is our kid... Does that mean you're the chick???"


End file.
